Peanut Butter Cups

To round out the birthday celebration I decided to try my hand at making some peanut butter cups. I found this recipe on Brown Eyed Baker and knew I had to try them. I was a little heavy handed on the chocolate with mine so they wound up with a higher chocolate to peanut butter ratio than a traditional Reese's but the flavor of the peanut butter filling was right on and delicious. They were very fun to make and I will definitely try my hand at them again and fill each cup with a little less chocolate for the peanut butter lovers in my family. This time my mom brought the leftovers to work and they were a definite hit with her friends there.

Peanut Butter Cups
From Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
4 cup milk chocolate chips (two 11.5 oz bags)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening

Directions:
Line a mini muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the peanut butter, butter and brown sugar over medium heat. Heat until completely melted and starting to bubble a little, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Add the confectioners' sugar a 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until completely combined with the peanut butter mixture after each addition. Set aside and let cool.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips and shortening together in the microwave on 50% power in 30 second increments, until completely melted, stirring after each burst.

Using a small cookie scoop or a couple of teaspoons, spoon melted chocolate into the bottom of each lined muffin cup.

Use a heaping teaspoon to scoop out the peanut butter mixture. Roll it into a ball, and then flatten it slightly into a disk. Place on the prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once finished with all of the peanut butter mixture, refrigerate both the muffin tins and the peanut butter patties for about 30 minutes.

Place a peanut butter patty on top of each chocolate lined muffin liner. Then use a scoop or a spoon to add more melted chocolate on top and around each peanut butter patty. (If the melted chocolate firmed up, just pop it back into the microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds or so to re-melt.)

Refrigerate again for 30 minutes, then you are ready to serve! Store in the refrigerator or freezer.  You can keep at room temperature in an airtight container if you're going to serve them the same day, but they'll start to get soft if not a cool room temperature.

Reese's Cup Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

So you know from my last post that my mom loves French onion soup. Well when is comes to dessert her favorite combination of flavors is chocolate and peanut butter. It is not my favorite flavor combination so I don't make it very often but the birthday girl gets her favorite so off I went to find the ultimate in chocolate and peanut butter desserts. After much searching I decided on this cake from Annie's Eats and homemade chocolate peanut butter cups which I will post about later this week. Both of these came out great and she was very happy. The cake and frosting are both very rich so we had a lot of cake left over. I made mom take two big pieces home and Joe took the rest to work the next day. I think he said it lasted about 20 minutes before the plate was practically licked clean.

Now I made a small mistake while making the frosting and only put in 1 1/2 instead of 2 cups of confectioners sugar. The icing was still light and fluffy, it just had more peanut butter flavor that it probably would have if I had added all 2 cups of sugar. So I suggest you taste as you go along and stop adding the sugar when the flavor is to your peanut butter liking.

Reese's Cup Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
From Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

For the icing:
2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups creamy peanut butter
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup heavy cream

miniature Reese's cups, halved and/or chopped for decoration

Directions:
For the cake, center a rack in the over and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9x2" round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Place the pans on a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until thoroughly blended into the butter. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk; add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the butter milk in 2 (beginning and ending with the dry ingredients). Mix each addition only until it is blended into the batter. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 26-30 minutes or until the cakes feel springy to the touch and start to pull away from the sides of the pans. Transfer to wore racks to cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

For the icing, place the confectioner's sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

To assemble the cake, level each cake layer and place one cake layer on a cardboard circle covered in foil. Spread peanut butter frosting on top of the cake layer. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting. Frost the tops and outside of the cake with remaining peanut butter frosting. Decorate with halved and chopped Reese's cups as desired.

French Onion Soup

Oh blog how I have missed you. I have not been a very conscientious blogger over the past month and for that I apologize. It seemed like every time I sat down to work on the blog something came up or I fell asleep waiting for my ancient laptop to boot up. I also haven't been cooking too many wonderful blog-worthy dishes lately but I promise that is going to change. This recipe was created for my mom's birthday last month. She loves French onion soup and it was actually her "craving"  all through her pregnancy with me. She tells me that she used to have it for lunch everyday while she was pregnant. I recently told that story to someone and they commented that I must love onions after all that soup. Interestingly enough, I do love onions now but I didn't really care for them as a child. It is only as an adult that my love and appreciation for the onion has flourished. Now onions are used in a daily basis in my kitchen. I would say more times than not onion makes an appearance in our dinner.

I wanted to try and recreate the classic restaurant style soup for my mom's birthday dinner and I searched high and low for a recipe but couldn't find just one that I liked so I took a few and combined them into one. I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe, Ina Garten's from her How Easy is That? book and a recipe from The Williams Sonoma Collection:  Soup book for inspiration and came out with what I think is a pretty darn good French onion soup. I tested it out on my husband, brother and cousin about two weeks before the birthday dinner and it got good reviews from all of them so I replicated the recipe again for mom's birthday and it came out just as good. Just writing this post makes me want to make it again very soon! Keep in mind that is a little time consuming, not necessarily a quick weeknight meal. Although you can make a big pot of it on the weekend and just not add the bread and cheese. Then during the week just reheat it and broil it just before serving. We did this with the leftovers and they were great the next day.

French Onion Soup
From Colleen's Kitchen Therapy

Ingredients:
3 lbs yellow onions, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp granulated sugar
3/4 cup brandy
1 1/2 cups good dry white wine
8 cups low sodium beef broth
Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8-10 1 inch thick slices of french bread, toasted
1.5 - 2 cups Gruyere & Gouda cheese, shredded

Directions:
Melt the butter and oil together in the bottom of a 5 quart dutch oven over moderately low heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes.

Uncover the pot, add the sugar and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook for 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn golden brown.

Add the brandy, stir to loosen any brown bits in the bottom of the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer for 15 more minutes. Add in the beef broth and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

Preheat the broiler with a rack 5 inches below the heating element. Ladle the soup into oven safe bowls. Top each both with a piece of the toasted bread and a heaping mound of the cheese mixture. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Alfredo Sauce

The season finale of True Blood and the Giants first game of the season happened to be on the same day a few weeks ago.  That of course, meant a full day of hanging out in my family room with my family and friends.  A few days before, David asked me if we could make Alfredo sauce.  Someone at work had just heated up their leftovers and it smelled so good so he wanted some.  With that one request we had our dinner planned for Sunday night.  To round out the dish we added sauteed chicken breasts and steamed broccoli which I think made a really good combination.  This recipe made just enough sauce for a pound of pasta which fed the 4 of us with no leftovers.  I will not be making this often since it is so high in fat and calories but it was really good and perfect for a once in a while treat.

Alfredo Sauce
From Colleen's Kitchen Therapy

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic powder, white pepper and cheese and whisk until thoroughly combined and heated through.  Serve over cooked pasta immediately.  Garnish with extra grated Parmesan cheese.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

There is just something about chocolate and peanut butter together that I love. If you look back in the blog you will see it is a flavor combination that I use often. It is one of those timeless combinations that I never get tired of. For me, there has to be just the right mix of the too though, too much peanut butter and I am not a fan. For example, I really don't like a regular size Reese's peanut butter cup. There is too much peanut butter and not enough chocolate in it for me. The mini size ones however, have the perfect chocolate to peanut butter ratio.  For this batch, I had some leftover white chocolate chips that I threw in there too.  The mixture between milk and white chocolates and peanut butter was really good.

I have tried a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes and keep finding myself coming back to the good old Toll House recipe that is always on the back of the bags of chips. Not that there aren't other recipes that I like too but this one is just really good. It creates a cookie that is crisp on the edges and soft and chewy in the center. It is a good thing that Joe's office is receptive to homemade goodies because we had to get these out of here quickly or else we would have eaten all of them. Thanks for taking them off our hands and hips!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
From Toll House

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 2/3 cups (11 oz package) Nestle peanut butter & milk chocolate chips
3 oz white chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks.  Store in an air tight container.

White Chocolate Ice Cream

I was on the hunt for a new ice cream flavor and when I get in the mood to make ice cream my first stop is always to David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop. I was flipping the pages of the book and came across a recipe for white chocolate ice cream. It was a French style ice cream (includes egg yolks) which I tend to like better than American which doesn't include eggs. The French style definitely produces a smoother finished product. The American styles that I have tried seem to get a little too icy for my taste after being frozen for a couple of days. I like white chocolate so I decided to give it a try. I had some Godiva chocolate liqueur at home so I decided to throw a little of that in to enhance both the flavor and the texture.

Ever since I created my Bailey's ice cream awhile back I am a big proponent of adding at least a little bit of alcohol to all of my ice creams. Since alcohol doesn't ever completely freeze, it helps the keep the ice cream silky and smooth even after it has been in the freezer for awhile.

This ice cream was fabulous. Perhaps the best batch of ice cream I have ever made. The flavor is wonderful and not too overpowering and the texture is by far the best that has ever come out of my ice cream maker. I love white chocolate and raspberries together so I am already trying to figure out a way to add raspberries to this recipe. I will keep you updated on my progress. In the meantime, make this ice cream!

White Chocolate Ice Cream
Very slightly adapted from The Perfect Scoop

Ingredients:
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tbsp chocolate liqueur

Directions:
Put the chocolate pieces in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top. Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan. Stir mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer over the white chocolate. Stir until the white chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, then stir in the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.  Just before adding the mixture to the ice cream maker, stir in the chocolate liqueur.  Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

I love beef stew.  It is one of my favorite fall and winter comfort foods.  I have been making this recipe for years and once the weather turned a little colder earlier this week I couldn't wait to make it again.  This make a lot of stew.  There was enough for the 2 of us to eat dinner for 2 nights and 3 lunches for me so it is a great size for a crowd.  Just make sure that you have a big enough slow cooker to fit it all in.  I have a 6 quart cooker and it is filled up almost to the brim when I make this recipe.  You may be tempted to skip the step that asks you to brown the meat before putting it in the slow cooker but I highly recommend you don't.  I think it imparts a lot of flavor in the dish.  I am sure I will be making this again quite a few more times this season.  Yum!

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

Ingredients:
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch chunks
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups vegetable juice
1 cup beef broth
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried majoram
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
3 cups cubed potatoes (about 3 medium)
24 oz. frozen mixed vegetables (green beans, corn, peas, carrots)
1 cup sliced carrots (2 medium)

Directions:
Place flour in a plastic bag and season with salt and pepper.  Add meat cubes, a few at a time, shaking to coat.  In a large saucepan or Dutch oven brown meat in hot oil.  Place browned meat in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Layer the onions, potatoes, mixed vegetables and carrots on top of the meat.  Combine the vegetable juice, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, majoram, pepper and bay leaf.  Pour over meat and vegetables and cover.  Cook on low 9-10 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.